Pine Cove…Year 4

You may hear “Family Camp” and East Texas and think we must be crazy to keep going back to Pine Cove, but it seriously is the best vacation ever! I think this picture sums up our opinion of family camp pretty well =)

Every year, as our kids get older and older, camp just gets more and more fun!

Things I noticed about my children during the week:

Avery is the most responsible kid I know. She is also incredibly tender hearted and will help anyone who needs helps. And, as she gets older, she gets a little fearful of things like the zip line, the climbing wall, and the water rocket; HOWEVER, she never lets her fear stop her. She pushes through that fear, overcomes it, and walks away smiling. Love watching that determination and stubbornness be used for good!

Elliana is fearless. She will climb any wall, jump off any building, ride on any water ride, and do anything as long as people may laugh at her or it looks like it may make her laugh. She is also a great friend. She makes friends with everyone she meets, and if she can stop giggling long enough, she can make everyone around her smile. And although she is now 5, she still needs a nap every once in a while….desperately.

This was the first year Justus got to do things like the water rocket and zip line with us. Unfortunately, I forgot he’s only 3 and still takes everything literally. For example, he wouldn’t go out onto the actual water rocket. He just wanted to sit in the boat. I later learned he didn’t think he was big enough to go into space yet without mommy…(forgot to tell him the “rocket” wasn’t actually a space ship rocket. He literally thought he would shoot up into the sky if he sat on the water rocket!). He also really likes to run. Pine Cove has lots of land with a lot of counselors who love to chase after your children. Justus ran until he fell over to sleep and then woke up to run some more. He was in heaven!

And Brent and I…well we just get to relax. There are so many people taking care of your children that you don’t have to parent a whole lot at camp; you just get to have fun as a family. The counselors remind the kids to eat with manners, they take the kids to the bathroom, the remind them to follow the rules, they basically parent your children for you. And they are so fun about it that the kids just listen and follow the rules. This frees the parents up to just have fun with the kids! Its truly a week of vacation where the family gets to just be.

Brent and I also got to go on 3 dates….Did you hear that? THREE dates in one week! A week of fun with my kids and a week of fun with just my hubby and I. It is just about a perfect week.

3 Responses to “Pine Cove…Year 4”

I always love your posts about this! Looks so fun! Its on my list of things I want to do with our family for sure. But with Brian’s company finally up and running, I have no idea when we’ll ever spend a summer in the US again. I think we’re going to always have to come in winter. 🙁

Oh and I loved reading about each of the kids personalities! Isn’t it so fun how they come together and to see what they are like and how they work together as family despite how different they all are?! I love it.

It’s so cool to see your family carry on the PC legacy! We hope to take our family to camp at some point once they grow a little older. Staci and I have been to 3 of the couple retreats since we’ve been married, and take our youth kids there for work crew weekends and for MS/HS retreats! Looks like ya’ll had a blast!